Letters | Mind the quality of English in Hong Kong’s public messages

Readers discuss the increasing instances of awkward English on signage in Hong Kong, and the need for members of the city’s ethnic minority communities to become proficient in Cantonese

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A child in Central MTR station on March 21. However hard a teacher may try to give the best English lessons, what students see every day – on their commute, perhaps – is more likely to be remembered as an example of correct and sophisticated English. Photo: May Tse

Published: 11:30am, 14 Aug 2023

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Older Hongkongers may remember being amused by odd English phrases seen during visits to Japan. Compared to other learners of English, the Japanese did appear to struggle with the language more.

But these days in Hong Kong – where English is taught from school age – we seem to be seeing more and more instances of awkward English on display, and even in places where one would least expect to find them.

Thus, a stylish canvas shielding enhancement works at the East Gate of the University of Hong Kong reads “Building the future with vision”. It is unlikely that the message in question concerns seeing clearly, however important that is when building works are in progress.

Meanwhile, a banner near an exit from Admiralty MTR station reads “The 6th generation Peak Tram is now open”, which really is not the same as saying that the new Peak Tram has begun running. Inside a different MTR station, there is a prominent notice reminding passengers to “use the correct ticket valid for your journey”. The phrase is tautological and seems to be the sort of mistake a less advanced learner of the language would make.

The problem is that however hard a teacher may try during English lessons, what students see day in, day out – on their train commute, for instance – is more likely to be remembered as an example of correct and sophisticated English, even if it is actually not.